C'est comme ça que je t'aime (2020-2024)

Genre: TV / Franco / Comedy
Distribution: Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, Patrice Robitaille, Marilyn Castonguay, François Létourneau
Nombre de saisons: 3

 

Entre 1974 et 1976, deux couples de Saint-Foy, en banlieue de Québec, se retrouvent en manque de passion dans leur vie qu’ils considèrent tous trop empreinte de platitude. Ils décident donc de se tourner vers le crime organisé pendant que les enfants sont au camp d’été.

J’ai toujours eu un faible pour l’univers que François Létourneau nous livre à l’écran dans les séries qu’il crée. C’est comme ça que je t’aime ne fait pas exception. Une ribambelle de personnages plus colorés les uns que les autres. Déjà que les personnages principaux sont forts en soit, disons qu’ils sont bien entourés.

Pour ce qui est du jeu des comédiens et comédiennes, rien à redire. C’est solide. L’intrigue m’a presque perdu à quelques petits moments, mais ça c’est terminé en force. Et l'effort mis à recréer les années 1970, bravo.

Rating: ««««

The Woods (2006)

Genre: Horror
Directed by: Lucky McKee
Cast: Agnes Bruckner, Patricia Clarkson, Bruce Campbell
Time: 91 minutes

 

In 1965, a troubled teen named Heather Fasulo is sent to a New England all-girls private school located in an isolated wooded area. Soon after her arrival, Heather realizes that there might be this terrible hidden secret in this establishment and in the woods surrounding it.

Thinking back, I am trying to find a redeeming quality to this particular film, and I cannot find it. The plot is slim, the acting is horrible, and it just feels like 90 wasted minutes. There was nothing to hook me and pull me in.

Rating: «

Funkytown (2011)

Genre: Franco / Drama
Réalisation: Daniel Roby
Distribution: Patrick Huard, Justin Chatwin, Paul Doucet, Sarah Mulch
Durée: 132 minutes

 

À la fin des années 70, c’est l’ère du disco, et Montréal n’y échappe pas. Bastien Lavallée est le roi du disco à Montréal. Vedette locale, il fait la pluie et le beau temps à la télé et dans les clubs, comme le Starlight. Dans son entourage, il y a aussi Jonathan Aaeronson, une autre vedette de la radio et de la télé ; Tino, un garçon de restaurant qui est danseur disco dans ses temps libres ; Adriana, une mannequin qui aspire à devenir chanteuse disco ; Gilles Lefebvre, un réalisateur de disque et propriétaire de club aux pratiques discutables ; Mimi, une ancienne chanteuse de gogo sur le déclin, et bien plus encore.

Ce film comporte des personnages fictifs, mais certains sont inspirés de vraies personnalités. Bastien Lavallée est inspiré d’Alain Montpetit et Jonathan Aaronson de Coco Douglas Leopold. On nous rend bien l’époque du disco à Montréal. Il y a un sentiment d’authenticité dans les décors, les costumes et les looks. On y voit un monde de fête, d’hédonisme, de débauche et de drogue.

Il semble y avoir un excès de personnages dans ce film, ce qui fait que l’histoire s’en va un peu dans tous les sens. Il aurait été utile de réduire à cet égard. C’est aussi bizarre d’avoir mis de nouveaux noms sur des gens qui ont vraiment existé, mais de relater des événements assez proches de la réalité de ces personnalités connues. L’aspect légal qui l’a emporté, j’imagine. Somme toute, Funkytown est un film correct et divertissant le temps que ça dure. Comme le disco, en fait.

Rating: «««

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Cast: Jim Carrey, Sean Young, Courteney Cox
Time: 86 minutes

 

After the Miami Dolphins’ mascot Snowflake is kidnapped, the football team’s publicist decides to hire Ace Ventura, a very eccentric man who calls himself a Pet Detective, to work on the case, alongside the Miami Police.

This is my 1500^th review for this blog. On this momentous occasion, I decided to revisit a film that holds a special place in my heart. I had not seen it again since I started this blog, so it was cool to see it again with older eyes. I still remember the discovery of this film and of Jim Carrey’s work. Then, kids at my school keet repeating the taglines. It was a phenomenon.

The film is a little dated, looking at it 30 years later, but it is still a lot of fun. Yes, Carrey’s antics are over-the-top, but they are so entertaining — to me, anyways. The story is nothing complicated, but that is normal for this type of comedy. It doesn’t take itself seriously, it just aims to entertain. In that sense, mission accomplished.

Rating: ««««

Lone Survivor (2013)

Genre: Biographical / Action
Directed by: Peter Berg
Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Time: 121 minutes

 

Set during the war in Afghanistan, this film is a dramatized account of the true events of Operation Red Wings, where the US Navy SEALs were unsuccessful in their mission to track down Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. This film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name, written by Marcus Luttrell, who ended up being the lone survivor of his group.

This film offers a really compelling account of courage and survival, and of honor in the face of danger. Some of those scenes felt so real, I could feel the pain of the characters on screen. Some solid acting across the board. Took me a while to get hooked, but, by the end, I was truly in.

Rating: ««««

American Gun (2005)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Aric Avelino
Cast: Linda Cardellini, Tony Goldwyn, Marcia Gay Harden, Forrest Whitaker
Time: 95 minutes

 

This film deals with three different stories where gun use is involved. There is the mother of a kid who killed multiple people in a school shooting, a principal trying to keep the violence out of his school and an A student who works in her family’s gun store while dealing with difficult circumstances in her life.

This film suffers from a clear lack of focus. It deals with too many elements, considering its duration, and it ends up scratching not much more than the surface in each one. There were some touching parts, but, in the end, I kept waiting for something bigger to come, and it just fell flat. It felt like the aim was to moralize and not do much more.

Rating: ««

Once Bitten (1985)

Genre: Comedy / Horror
Directed by: Howard Storm
Cast: Lauren Hutton, Jim Carrey, Karen Kopins
Time: 94 minutes

 

Mark Kendall is high school student whose biggest wish is to lose his virginity. He has a girlfriend, Robin, but she is hesitant to do the deed, as she wants it to be special. While out at a Hollywood nightclub with his two best friends, Mark is seduced by a blonde Countess. Unbeknownst to him, she is a centuries-old vampire who needs three doses of blood from the same virgin before Halloween to stay young.

This is the first leading role for Jim Carrey in a feature film. The plot is silly, but the film does not seem to take itself seriously, which gives it some charm. The acting itself is okay. There are some funny lines here and there, and we can catch a glimpse of the antics that would later make Carrey famous. There are some scenes of facial mugging in a store and a dance scene that are particularly worth seeing.

Rating: «««